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Immigration Lessons From China

Welcome to an era when governments treat people as assets, not liabilities.

By

L. Gordon Crovitz

April 14, 2013 6:13 p.m. ET

Just as Washington is considering the first immigration reform in a generation, a reminder of the urgency of the issue comes from a surprising source: China. Even with more than 1.3 billion people, Beijing realizes it needs more people. Welcome to an era when governments of all kinds treat people as assets, not liabilities.

Last month, China's new leaders signaled that one of their earliest priorities is reform of the one-child policy, which has ruthlessly enforced limits on family size since the 1970s. This follows a...